


Crimson Ties

by Hawkflight



Category: Claymore
Genre: Cannibalism, F/M, Injury Recovery, Mental Anguish, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Serious Injuries, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-03-15 14:19:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3450260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkflight/pseuds/Hawkflight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They had met once before. In a sea of blood, red and purple staining the ground.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I was watching Claymore again (about the millionth time), and from Miria's reaction to Rigaldo's appearance I got the impression they had met before, and that is what this fic centers around. That first meeting. Because of that and other implications I've made for this, this fic will be prior to the nickname 'Phantom Miria' (which means I'm breaking the order of Miria's canon hunts, basically the first is the second for this and so on, if you're curious. i'm mainly just saying this to avoid any confusion in the fic itself)
> 
> I would warn that this will be full of gore among other things, but this is Claymore. If you've seen or read the anime/manga then you already expect a lot of that.

_"For your next assignment you will be hunting down a Voracious Eater. You are to meet a group of three other warriors at Cirvaca, understood?" He hardly waited to continue, not mentioning that she hadn't made a single move to confirm that she had heard him, had understood, was even paying attention. At this point he must have gotten use to it, being ignored. "This will be the first time you go on a mission like this, but don't worry. One of the warriors is in the single digits and will inform you how it works when you get there. I trust they'll make sure you come back alive, Miria."_

Her eyes narrowed at just the memory as she walked into the town, boots clicking on the pebble stone. Really, Hagriv? Trusting another Claymore to keep her alive instead of herself? As if she would believe that. As if he cared if she came back or not. It hadn't taken her long to figure out that he didn't care. None of them did. These people the Organization used to give them messages were just that - messengers. They couldn't care less about them.

Though one thing bothered her.

Why did the organization need to send four warriors to deal with one yoma? It didn't make sense. It was just a yoma. Even if it had lived longer, had a larger thirst for human flesh... That couldn't really make such a difference, could it?

"Miria." She turned to see a hooded figure in an alley and stepped away from the center of the street, following the man down the dark passage. He stopped at a door, looking back at her from the thin slits in the cloth revealing his eyes. "They're inside."

Of course. She stepped past him, pushing the door open to see three more warriors inside, lounging on whatever furniture they could find in the small room. The door shut behind her when she walked inside, eyes flickering from one warrior to the next before her gaze dropped to the ground. Hilda wasn't here. She didn't know a single one of these warriors, much less recognize them.

"You're all here then." The woman to the right spoke, the one sitting on a barrel, back flat against the stone wall. "Introduce yourselves and tell me how many hunts you've been on before so I can know if you'll be useful in the field."

"Standard procedure, huh?" Miria raised her gaze to see the flames of the brazier flicker across the back of the room, highlighting another warrior in the shadows. This one was smiling, while looking at the one that was obviously their captain for this mission. "Honestly, Eryn. Do you have to ask? We've been on these missions before, you already know how many Awakened Beings I've killed."

"That's true, Kaveri. Even so I expect everyone to give this basic information. It _is_ procedure."

"What-"

Eryn held up a hand to stop the third warrior from continuing. "Introduce yourself first before asking questions, and when you do make sure it concerns the mission. I'm not here as your training instructor. You've already left that nest."

For a moment it was silent until the younger woman spoke, "My name is Zelda. I'm ranked twenty eighth in the Organization. I've never been on a hunt before."

"You're a rookie then." Kaveri sighed a second later when Eryn gave her a pointed look. "I'm Kaveri, also known as Thin Mist Kaveri. I'm ranked as twenty one. This will be my fifth hunt for an Awakened Being."

Awakened Being. She kept saying that like they were suppose to know what it meant. The Organization said they would be fighting a Voracious Eater, not this Awakened Being. From the look she was getting from Eryn it was her turn. "My name is Miria. I am ranked seventeenth in the Organization. This is my first hunt for a Voracious Eater." Eryn's raised brow told her enough when she mentioned it.

"Oh, two rookies and two veterans. I see the Organization has finally struck a perfect balance," Kaveri's voice might as well cut like a knife through the air each time she spoke. Her distrust of the Organization's choice was evident though, and for that Miria would do the same as Hagvir. Just ignore her words.

"Alright," Eryn muttered. "I am Eryn and I will be your captain for this mission. I currently hold the rank of nine within the Organization. This will be my sixth hunt." The warrior pushed off from the barrel, boots clicking lightly on the wood paneling. Now that she was closer to the fire Miria could see the usual blonde locks falling around her pale skin, just two strips framing her face, the rest pulled up into a ponytail. "The purpose of this mission is to take down an Awakened Being. To the public and those that have not faced them before you know them as Voracious Eaters, but don't be mistaken into thinking one of these creatures is like any other yoma. An Awakened Being was previously a Claymore, like us. They went past their yoki limit and have sub-combed to the yoma side that dwells in all of us. As you know, a black card may be sent to somebody if you are reaching your limit. So you don't turn into one of them. An Awakened Being either did not have the chance to send their black card, someone was too late to kill them as a human, or they passed their limit in battle. That's what we are fighting."

"So now that they know that we can go on our way," Kaveri said as she got up, heading to the door Miria stood in front of. Her hair was lighter than the others, much longer as well, easily reaching halfway down her back.

"There's more to this mission than that."

Kaveri stopped short, glancing at Eryn. "It's an Awakened Being, we were sent to kill it. The mission is as straight forward as they come."

"What we're facing is a male Awakened Being. Someone the Organization used to create a Claymore in the early years when they made male Claymores. The practice of making them doesn't continue today, but they were strong fighters before awakening. That means you keep your eyes open at all times. Zelda, Miria, stay out of the way in the fight. Only attack from sides were not attacking from if you think you have a clear shot. Got it?"

"Yes," Zelda replied instantly, eyes wide with obvious fear at this news.

Miria didn't say anything, just kept her lips shut. A Voracious Eater was really an Awakened Being, a Claymore that went over their yoki limit. Not only that, but a male Awakened Being. Hagriv really didn't care that he had just sent her essentially on a suicide mission. Shouldn't the whole group be experienced if it wasn't a normal Awakened being? But then again, he had never given her a mission she had been unable to complete. Maybe this was his way of saying he believed she was capable enough for such a mission even without any previous hunts under her belt as it were. "Fine." No matter what Eryn said she would fight this Awakened Being just like she fought all other yoma.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the first chapter wasn't very eventful. More of a chance to meet the other Claymores, but the gore starts here.

"You're in my way, dark hair."

Kaveri had stopped just a foot away from her, pointedly looking at her hair that still had yet to lose it's natural pigmentation. It wasn't as dark as before she had taken the yoma into her body, but it was still obviously brown. Even so, she was number seventeen. The color of her hair shouldn't be such a deal breaker with the other warriors. She was the second highest rank on this mission. There was no reason for this behavior from a fellow warrior, even if they had been on more hunts than her.

Miria sighed, closing her eyes as she stepped to the side listening for the door opening before stepping forward and spinning quickly on her heel. She struck with her other leg, the bottom of her boot hitting Kaveri square in the back.

Her eyes opened to see the warrior stumble ahead of her. Kaveri didn't go down though, instead she whirled around one hand on the hilt of her claymore. "You-"

A blade was extended toward her, hovering over Miria's shoulder. An obvious threat. "Enough," Eryn snapped. "Save it for the hunt, Kaveri." The blade drew back then and she could hear it slide between a metal slit. She could feel Eryn's gaze on her and glanced back over her shoulder to meet the identical silver eyes. "I expected this, you know. The Organization said you caused trouble before. Just know that this is the only time I will permit it. Any more instances and I will do more than just report your inobedience. The mission is to hunt the Awakened Being, not to pick fights."

When Eryn stepped past her and out the door she didn't fail to notice that the captain hadn't bothered to use her name. So much for team work. "You coming as well or are you going to let them gloat that these hunts only need two members instead of four?"

Zelda finally stepped away from the wall. Her own hair was shorter, though the strands covered most of the left side of her face. Miria could only imagine that it was troublesome in battle, but if she could still fight like that it didn't matter. "I'm coming."

Well, if she didn't the Organization would say she had disobeyed a direct order and had run away from her duties. Zelda didn't have a choice, but then again, none of them did.

An order was an order and they would see that it got fulfilled.

Miria gave her a small nod before passing over the threshold and back into the alley. She pinpointed the other warriors' yoki energy and started in the direction they had gone with Zelda following a few steps behind.

The snow crunched beneath her feet as she walked. The village of Cirvaca was now five miles behind them. If she turned she could still see it down below, dark gray splotches nestled in the valley with snow capped mountains to the north, rolling hills to the south that slowly turned green. It was right on the edge of the northern territory.

"Stop." Her feet slowed, Miria took a few more steps forward to stand just beyond Eryn. She didn't even acknowledge the slanted eyes that landed on her for a second before moving back to the land ahead of them.

The snow had been falling at a steady rate ever since they set out on a deer trail. There wasn't much in the way of paths up north and the being they were hunting had never been seen on the roads. It was hunters and the like that had been going missing from the nearby village. Which made their hunt a pressing matter for Cirvaca. It may be barely in the north itself, but it still relied heavily on the terrain around it for food. Trade didn't come north often enough for them to live through winter without a generous amount of hunting and gathering.

"It's here." The clink of metal filled the air as swords were drawn.

A single skeletal hand broke through the surface of snow, each finger snapped off shortly after, two heading for Eryn, one for the rest of them. Miria stepped to the side quickly to avoid the projectile. If that's all this creature could do she didn't see what the fuss had been about back in the town.

"Hmm," a rumble came from beneath the earth as the ground shook. "You didn't run screaming like the last group." The hunters. "This will be fun."

Miria gripped her sword tighter as the ground rocked beneath her, sending the vibrations up her legs. The ground in front of them split open, an arm following the previous hand, what looked like two curved bones connected the apendage to the body. The body... it was grotesque. More bones, all curved and twisting around eachother, the center was the only part devoid of anything. It's head was split down the middle, eyes rolling in shallow pockets on opposite sides, almost like a fish. The legs if one could call them that had melded together only to split apart at the feet, actual flesh springing up and winding through the air to cover the bottom half of the creature. If not for all the skeleton features it would resemble a squid.

It wasn't the appearance of the creature that practically made her body turn to stone though. It's yoki aura... It was massive. She could feel it in the air, in the very stone beneath her feet.

Her eyes widened. "It's still in the ground!" Miria jumped skyward just as what she could only describe as three tentacles burst from the stone, following her up into the air. She turned quickly, swinging her blade in an arc beneath her.

The cut flesh fell to the ground and she glanced around her. Eryn and Kaveri were untouched, more flesh falling beneath them as they headed straight toward the Awakened Being. Her eyes quickly scanned below to see Zelda still standing on the stone hacking away at any tentacles that burst from the ground. They were multiplying around her as the seconds passed.

She had to do something or eventually the numbers would overwhelm the warrior. The flesh was already arcing above, trying to block the path to the sky. "Zelda, get down!" Without waiting to check if her orders were followed Miria dropped from the sky, slashing her claymore left and right as more of those blasted things sprung from the ground. Repeatedly cutting away flesh until het feet touched down on the layers of flesh and she moved forward, sword cutting straight through the writhing mass that held Zelda within.

Thankfully all the blood that sprayed outward left the snow purple. Zelda stood up from the pile of lost limbs panting heavily. There were tears in her uniform but they were light. It didn't look the creature had been able to get past the first layer of skin and do any real damage. That was a relief. If they had lost a warrior this early into the fight-

"Eyes here!" Kaveri's shout made her turn, blade raising quickly as her eyes swept over the Awakened Being. She was leaping straight toward it's right arm and a mass of those tentacles shot up from around it's body to block the warrior's path. Each one went right past the warrior though and Miria stared as Kaveri stepped on the tentacles themselves as she moved swiftly between the writhing wall. All of her yoki was in her legs, enabling her to be fast enough to dodge around them, slip inbetween before it could cut the path off, and she was moving in a straight line. Her sword arm was angled behind her rather than in front as Kaveri emerged from the mass her yoki moved to that single arm that arced quickly through the air. The blade slammed down on the shoulder never making a sound as it slid through bone until it emerged from the bottom and the right arm fell to the ground with a thud, kicking up snow.

"ARGHHHH!" One side of the head turned in the direction of Kaveri. "I'm going to kill you, you-RAAAAGH!"

"Who were you going to kill?" Eryn was smiling as she was perched on it's last remaining arm, blood leaking down her sword from the blow she had just delivered to it's left eye.

"Get off me!"

The bones of the left arm rattled as it started shaking, the hand twisted back and fingers flew from it towards Eryn who was quick to jump from the body part and land on a branch of a tree. "That better?" The woman's lips were curled up into a sneer, eyes narrowed. "You ugly freak."

There was a roar from the Awakened Being just before it's arm smashed into the tree Eryn was on, toppling it over. Though Miria couldn't see Eryn anywhere near the splintered wood and cracked stone. With another roar it's arm started flailing about, the hand repeatedly launching it's fingers as they were replaced a moment after going in all directions.

"AHHHH!"

Miria spun toward the scream, spotting Zelda lying on her back in the snow beyond the creature. Judging from the cut flesh lying on the ground a few yards ahead of her she must have snuck around it's back to attack from the bottom. The being had to be missing more than half of those damn tentacles now with all the four of them had sliced up.

It's left arm was redirecting back to the sound of the scream now and Miria sprinted forward, ducking beneath the two curved bones to Zelda's side to raise her blade and slice at the hand that was still splintering off it's own fingers. It fell to the ground, the rest of the arm whizzing by harmlessly.

"Zelda-" Miria turned to see the warrior gasping as her hands were wrapped around her right thigh. The leg beneath was gone, those bone fingers sticking out of the ground around pieces of flesh below where her leg should be. Bright red blood was staining the snow below, pooling beneath the jagged cuts made by the flying apendages. Miria dropped to her knees. "Can you regenerate it?" Zelda's eyes were slits and she was breathing quickly, hissing through her teeth, but after a second she nodded. "Concentrate on that. I won't let it hit you again."

She stood up, turning quickly to face the Awakened Being, both hands clasped around the hilt of her sword as she stood there focusing on the massive yoki in front of her.

The remaining lengths of flesh shot toward her and she swung her sword quickly, in short acrs before bringing it back before her and repeating the process as they continued racing at her. She was hacking away at the tentacles, cutting a single one repeatedly to make sure the being couldn't use it again, not letting one get past her sword and to the fallen warrior beyond her.

The massive flow of yoki shifted then, she could feel it coming toward her and slashed her sword up and across her body, cutting through another mass of tentacles before blocking the projectiles with the flat of her blade. How was it doing that anyway? She had cut it's hand off!

Her head turned to see the arm moving toward her, the flat part where it's hand had been was completely black, except for the bone fingers shooting out from it. Pain splintered through her stomach in the next second, blood following soon after. The tentacles had imbedded themselves part way into her, she had cut them enough that they couldn't do much more damage than that, but they were also keeping her in place and those bone fingers were still coming. Damn! "Move, Zeld-Unf," she gasped as the arm hit the flat of her blade, the tentacles slipping from her before she went flying.

She hit a slab of rock hard, the ice splintering outward from her impact, chips falling away around her. The arm was still heading on it's path toward her again and she wrapped her other hand around the hilt of her sword, driving the point into the ice beneath her. The arm connected a second later and her body shook with the effort to keep her sword standing in front of her so she wouldn't be crushed.

"Damn rookie," she heard the curse before she saw Kaveri above the Awakened Being's arm. Her own arms were raised above her head, though Miria could sense her yoki was only in one that was quickly brought down, the other hand releasing the blade after pushing it back in the opposite direction. It cut clean through the arm, the hilt right against the bone, the tip barely showing through the farthest piece of bone.

As the piece of bone fell Miria could see the absolute darkness left in it's place. "Get out of there!" Even as she yelled the fingers shot out from the darkness, piercing through flesh and bone alike.

"An eye for an eye, you bitch."

Kaveri let out a scream as she stepped back, blood dribbling down the stump of her upper left arm. Her right leg came up quickly, kicking at the remaining part of his arm that was still attached to the body and away from the two of them. The warrior dropped forward on her knees soon after, reaching forward to grab at the arm still holding her claymore and tugging it toward her. It had little holes in it everywhere but it was still whole, with some time she could connect it back to her body.

"Bastard! I'll take your head!"

Her eyes quickly found Eryn falling from the sky, the blade ahead of her striking in the center of it's remaining eye. The being roared, swinging it's stump of an arm toward her but the bone couldn't twist, it couldn't launch those frustrating bone fingers at her. The few remains of it's tentacles shot up, covering it's head as the warrior removed the claymore from it's eye.

Eryn's eyes were golden now, veins sticking out from her arms as the muscle grew, compensating for all the yoki energy being focused there. A yell erupted from her as the blade fell again, cutting through the tentacles, half ot it's split head following the flesh to the snow below. The other half, another mass of estranged tentacles fell soon after as the blade was swung again and the body of the Awakened Being fell to the ground with a thump, no longer moving.

"Heh."

Eryn stood up from the skeletal remains, but Miria was more concerned with Zelda beyond her, closest to the deer trail they had come up on. Her leg was just starting to regrow the skin over the new muscle and bone, but her eyes were wide and she was shaking from head to toe. The girl was on her feet, patches of muscle still visible on her skin as she took of running down the trail.

The lids of her eyes shut for a moment and Miria pressed a hand to her wounds, trying to slow the bleeding as she fought to keep conscious, to concentrate her yoki on the wound and close it even as her head pounded.

A sort-of gurgle broke it and she opened her eyes to see several limbs potruding from Eryn's body. These ones weren't naked flesh though, it couldn't possibly be that Awakened Being from before. There was fur on the limbs and at each end they were curved, like claws.

"Eryn!" She could hear Kaveri's shout, see the woman was still holding her arm to her shoulder, the skin reattaching when the lids of her eyes closed once again and all she could see was darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You didn't really think I would be so predictable, did you? (get out of my head Ophelia)
> 
> Oh, and a 'surprise gift' I suppose. Over on my DA is a sketch of the Awakened Being from the last chapter.
> 
> Warning: for really disturbing shit. Eating while reading this chapter is ill-advised.

The man finally lowered the stack of papers from in front of him, staring at her with cold calculating eyes. "You succeeded in killing the Awakened Being, did you not? The one the Organization assigned to you."

"Yes," she said quickly, still feeling tremors running through her body as she stood there in the center of the room. Zelda couldn't get the images of the others falling so quickly at the appearance of a second one out of her head.

Everything had been going relatively well up until that point. Even with the injuries that more than half the group had suffered that Awakened Being had been brought down and they had all  _lived_. For a short time anyway. Then Eryn - who had managed not to sustain any injury in the battle - was killed instantly by the second one that had just emerged from the mountain path. She hadn't even sensed him up until she saw him. The other Awakened Being must have masked that one's own yoki somehow or... or it had suppressed it's own yoki.

It was possible, she supposed. Awakened Beings use to be Claymores and they could suppress their yoki at will so it made sense. That had to be how that creature eluded her and the rest of them from the start. That's why...

Why the rest of them would be dead by now. They had to be. She had seen Kaveri hastening to attach her arm just after Eryn was cut down; she had also seen the holes in her arm. There was no way Kaveri could have used her full strength against that Awakened Being, if she had even managed to get close to it. It had just been so fast, it was a wonder it hadn't caught up with her when she was running down the hill. Kaveri must have kept it's attention long enough for her to get a safe distance away. Of course at the time she had just kept running; right up until she was through the doors of the Organization. Until she was safe from that terror.

As for Miria... she wasn't sure if she would have even been able to fight with the injuries she had sustained. Miria was an offensive warrior, not defensive like her. Though she hadn't lost any limbs in the attack so she didn't have to worry about her lack of skill in regeneration, it didn't help with healing those injuries either. Her stomach had been torn through by those tentacles, ripping out at least half the stitches that had kept her scar closed in the process. Not to mention the blow she had taken to her head when she hit that icy rock wall. There had been blood dribbling down from the back side of her head over the stone.

For the life of her Zelda couldn't even imagine that Miria had seen what had happened to Kaveri. When she was leaving, glancing over her shoulder she had seen the warrior's eyes close, slipping into unconsciousness. The Awakened Being could have easily killed her then.

Zelda could only hope that Kaveri had somehow managed to strike a killing blow against that beast so Miria wasn't killed in her sleep.

"So, according to your report and the absence of the others the rest of the squad was killed by the second Awakened Being?"

"Yes," Zelda repeated for what must have been the tenth time.

"Then return to your duties."

Her eyes widened and she took a step forward when she spoke, "But-"

"If the Organization gets a request to kill this specific Awakened Being it will be dealt with. For now though you are to return to the territory assigned to you and continue hunting down yoma. Is that understood?"

Zelda felt her fingers clench into a fist. "Yes, sir."

**/ / /**

Her lips parted from a prompting of clay on her bottom lip, cool water running down her throat an instant later as the cup was tilted up until the flow of liquid stopped. "There you go," a soft, calming voice filled her ears.

Miria swallowed hard before opening her eyes to see a man crouching down in front of her. Black hair fell over his brow, a few strands hanging in the way of hazy light blue eyes.

The man smiled the moment her eyes were fully open. "I wasn't sure you were going to make it. Even if you are a Claymore you suffered from some heavy wounds. You've been out of it for two days, until now."

"Two days?" she echoed. If that was true she must have been banged up pretty bad. But why was this man helping one of her kind?

"The only real concern I had was closing up your scar," Miria looked down at the man's words. Her uniform was still torn up from where the tentacles had struck her, allowing her to see the scar, her insides barely concealed by the stitches the man must have used to close it back up. So that her insides didn't spill out from her body along with the yoma flesh that lay dormant inside her. "It's crude," he muttered, pressing a finger to one of the stitches, the rest of his hand flat against her stomach. "But this is the only way it stays closed, isn't it?"

For a moment Miria couldn't answer him. This man... why wasn't he repulsed by the sight in front of him? Like any normal person would surely be. He had to have seen worse carnage in his life to be able to keep a steady gaze on her. A sympathetic one at that.

His gaze raised to her own eyes, a low, "Hmm," escaping him before he stood up and Miria could see beyond him.

Kaveri was sitting against cold stone opposite of her, hands raised above her head and clasped in high quality metal attached to the stone wall. But that wasn't the most surprising thing she saw; it was Kaveri's eyes. The usual silver was gone, a dark blue in it's place.

Her own eyes widened. Was hers... Had she?

She could remember a weight on her tongue just before swallowing down the water. Smaller than a pebble and practically weightless. The pills she carried with her; she had just swallowed some of them without knowing it at the time. Kaveri must have been made to swallow some of her own pills as well if her eyes had changed back to their natural color. There was no other explanation for it.

Then... Miria glanced up to the man when he re-entered the room, carrying a metal plate with a cloth thrown over it, obscuring whatever he had placed on it. He wasn't human. She had just been unable to sense his yoki; she still couldn't sense it even with his close proximity and her senses dulled from the pills. He had to be suppressing it then. "Who are you?" she snapped.

He gazed blankly at her for a second, the action unnerving her further when she realized just why his own eyes were so cloudy. Just like that of a blind cat, but he could clearly see her. He had to with that intent stare.

His lips quirked up into a smile a moment later. "I wouldn't have thought you were so rude to actually question me after I saved your life. Even if you're mad at me for hiding my own identity you should still be polite enough to state your own name before asking for mine."

With the way he went silent, clearly waiting for her to go first she could feel her teeth clench. But there was no way around it if he was unwilling to answer her question before she gave her own name. "It's Miria."

" _Miria_ ," he repeated, rolling the r in her name in such a manner that was practically lewd. "I'm Rigaldo. Just for future reference; what's your rank within the Organization?"

"Seventeen," it was difficult to make her tongue even move after the way he had said her name.

"Is that so?" Rigaldo, who's body had more-or-less been facing Kaveri while his head was directed at her began to turn in her direction as well. "Then since you're ranked higher than your companion here you'll be first."

"First?" Miria questioned.

Before Rigaldo could answer there was a growl from across the room, "Silver-eyed Lion King."

He turned to glance over his shoulder at Kaveri, who had remained silent up until now, just glaring at him from where she was held against the wall. His eyes flashed silver for a split-second, his gaze clear before retaining that lighter hue, eyes clouded over once more. "I apologize for not acknowledging you before, but your companion finally woke up and since she _is_ of higher rank; unlike what you first told me, you'll just have to wait your turn before I deal with you."

His attention turned back to her then, offering Miria a small smile as he walked over, setting the plate down next to her body before crouching down at her side once more, this time though he wasn't blocking her sight of Kaveri. Or the other Claymore's sight of her. She could clearly see Kaveri raise her head up further, lips drawing back to reveal her teeth as her eyes flickered gold. "No. You'll deal with me first,  _you bastard_."

Rigaldo's hand hesitated from pulling the cloth back from the plate. "Don't tell me you're still upset about your friend's death?" He twisted his head back to look at Kaveri. "I would have taken her with me as well, but after she killed one of my soldiers I simply couldn't stop myself from delivering the same fate to her. You should really count yourself lucky that your arm wasn't fully attached or you might have suffered the same fate. Though it's a terrible shame that the last of your squad got away. I suppose I was to concerned about Miria's condition to go after her at the time. Perhaps I'll take her in if I meet her again."

Kaveri simply growled in response to his words, "Where's the real Silver King?"

One second Rigaldo was crouched at Miria's side, the next he was standing across the room, one arm drawn up across his body so she couldn't see it. The only thing she could see well enough beyond him was the spray of blood that soon stained the stone red, individual strands running up the sides of the wall and landing on the floor below. His arm lowered then and she could see the brown fur running down from his elbow all the way to his hand where his fingers had become long black claws. The same claws that she had seen pierce Eryn days ago, that had killed Eryn. He could elongate his fingers, his claws to go further than his arms reach would allow for naturally.

It took another second until his arm took on it's human form once more and he spoke to Kaveri. So she had to be alive still, even with her injuries. "You have until the last drop of blood leaves your body to awaken."

Rigaldo stepped aside then and Miria's eyes widened upon seeing the lacerations along Kaveri's body. Every single major artery had been struck within that previous second, sliced open and now blood was flowing freely down Kaveri's skin, staining her uniform a bright red.

He was fast. Faster than any Claymore she had seen before. An Awakened Being. A former Claymore, likely in the single digits before he had awakened. Back when they used male Claymores that is. His power must have increased even further after all these years.

"I'm sorry for the interruption," Rigaldo said as he turned his attention back to her. "Now, where were we?" He walked back to her as she stared at him, not daring to move an inch even once he was crouched down at her side again. "Oh, right. Your squad leader killed the one Awakened Being and I really do need more soldiers. It was so nice of you to knock yourself unconscious for me. Saved me the trouble of doing it myself, though you did have me worrying about you for those first few days. If I'm not mistaken that was your first hunt for an Awakened Being, wasn't it?"

"Yes," she said the moment his finger prodded her arm.

Rigaldo paused, eyeing her before speaking again, "I apologize if I happened to frighten you earlier. It wasn't intended. Just do as I say and I won't have to give you the same ultimatum that I gave your companion." His hand finally lowered to the plate, removing the cloth and she felt a wave of confusion overwhelm her.

Sitting on the glass was two pieces of cooked meat, one obviously intended for her and the other for Kaveri, or it had been. Why had Kaveri drawn attention to herself like that if he was just giving them food? It didn't make any sense.

He picked up one of the pieces, gaze on her. "All I need you to do right now is open your mouth and eat this. Simple enough, don't you think?"

With one glance to the meat and then back at him she clenched her jaw. Something about it had to be wrong for Kaveri to have acted out the way she had.

"What? You think I poisoned it?" He raised the piece to his mouth, sliding his teeth over the meat to bite off a thin slice before swallowing. "See? There's no reason to be distrustful. I'm just going to feed your yoma side so you'll awaken."

Her lips slipped open for a moment, a gasp escaping her as the revelation struck her. It was human meat. She snapped her jaw shut quickly, remembering just how fast he was.

Rigaldo simply seemed to regard her though, watching as she tightened her jaw at his words and then he was smiling. Seeing such an expression only made her heart pound faster in her chest. "I realize you don't have much of an appetite, but once you Awaken I promise that will change." He leaned forward, bringing the meat up to her lips, pressing it lightly against her mouth.

Miria's first instinct was to move her hands, to push him and the piece of meat away, but she only felt the metal wrapped around her wrists dig in deeper when she tried to move them. On top of that her arms felt heavy since they were suspended in the air above her head; they must have been like that since she first arrived here two days ago. If it weren't for those pills suppressing her yoki ability she could actually move her hands to stop him, actually break through the metal that was dug so deep into the wall. She could have broken it from the wall if it was only in by an inch or two even in her current state; and he knew it.

He was grinning at her as he ran the meat along her lips, giving a small nudge here and there and each time she would flinch. Each time his grin would grow, eyes lighting up with pure delight. This was just a game to him.

The pressure increased just as the thought crossed her mind and she nearly froze when the meat passed her lips to connect with her teeth. Rigaldo didn't move the meat away though this time and she had to remind herself just what his goal was.

"How about we make a deal? You eat this one and I won't make you eat the extra one. How does that sound?"

Her gaze shifted, jaw loosening for just a second and she felt him grab at her jaw and practically wrench her mouth open, pushing the piece in with the tips of his fingers and then slamming her jaw shut once again. He was holding it closed now, pushing her head back until her skull hit the stone behind her; until her neck was bared.

She tried to keep the piece of cooked flesh from falling to the back of her throat, but after just brushing the burnt skin with her tongue the muscle froze and gravity directed the piece to the back of her mouth. Miria concentrated on clenching the muscles in her throat to keep the flesh from sliding down further. She would  _not_ eat a piece of a human, cooked or otherwise. He couldn't force her.

The thoughts kept repeating in her head as he kept her mouth shut, keeping her from spitting the piece out like she wanted to. He wouldn't let go until she swallowed it though. She already knew that; he had gotten the piece into her mouth and if she didn't do something he would force it down her throat.

Her eyes narrowed as she tugged at her wrists to no avail, feeling them burn seconds later. No. Her gaze shifted to find Rigaldo once more.

He was watching her silently, looking to be completely enraptured in even the tiniest movement of her body. His gaze raised from her throat to meet her own eyes seconds later; he must have seen the movement from the corner of his eyes. If she could open her jaw to speak she would. Even if he didn't listen to a word she said.

Not a single one. His own head tilted to the side, as if he knew what she was thinking. It wouldn't take much to guess she supposed.  _Stop. Just stop._

_I don't want this. I don't want to awaken. I don't want to taste human flesh; to devour it. Stop. You can't. I refuse to awaken._

The moment his lip curled up she wanted to scream. Instead she didn't even see him move: just felt his teeth on her throat, hot breath on her jugular, the tips of his fangs sinking into the top layer of skin. Her throat contracted and the flesh slid down her esophagus. She could have sworn she heard it plop into the acid of her stomach.

Her cheeks burned as the tears collecting in her eyes finally slid down her skin. When his hand moved from her jaw moments later a strangled cry fell from her lips.


End file.
